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Product Description
Praise for Coleridge: Early Visions
'One of the greatest literary biographies ever written.' Daily Telegraph
'Dazzling. A biography like few I have ever read.' James Wood, Guardian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Praise for Sidetracks
'A masterful study of the human heart - his, yours, mine - demonstrating that, in the right hands, biography can be the most dazzling literary form of all.' Sara Wheeler, Daily Telegraph
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
87 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly compelling history of science in the Enlightenment,
By Henry Turner (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (Hardcover)
I'm not a scientist. I have only a passing interest in the history of science. However, I'm c250 pages in and I am gripped. Holmes has the narrative skill of a great novelist, conjuring worlds and characters out of what could have so easily have been dry facts. Starting with Joseph Banks' experiences in Tahiti (he travelled as part of Cook's expedition), Holmes takes the reader into the mindset of the European encountering new, unknown worlds. In particular - in this case - their complex responses to the Tahitians' more open attitudes towards sex and sexuality. And that is one of the greatest strengths of the book. Whether it's dealing with Herschel and the discovery or Uranus or Davy and his lamp, The Age of Wonder is as much about the late 18th/early 19th century mind as it is about the science and scientists. Indeed, the book sees science through the eyes of the romantic movement (and a Britain in love with romanticism), so Coleridge, Keats and the Shelleys become major players in the narrative. Despite the focus on Herschel and Davy and their particular discoveries, the reader is compellingly immersed in a far wider exploration of ideas and culture in this period. The widespread excitement that scientific discovery generated is palpable and you can't help feeling that we have lost something very important in a world where science and the arts are so often perceived as near polar opposites. Wholeheartedly recommended to anyone in search of a rattling good read this Christmas, especially those who don't think that science is their pigeon.
44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding,
By
This review is from: The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (Hardcover)
I was given this as a Christmas present. Richard Holmes crafts a fascinating story that brings fully to life the period covered (late 18th and early 19th centuries). I was hooked from the first page as the exploits, discoveries and tribulations of Joseph Banks, William and Caroline Herschel, Mungo Park, Humphry Davy and a cast of other leading 'scientists' were woven together in a wonderful tapestry (no pun intended). Richard Holmes' prose is fluent and captivating. This is one book that really lives up to the blurb on the cover. Read it!
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A magnificent read,
By
This review is from: The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science (Hardcover)
There are plenty books written on modern science, exploration (geographical and scientific), fledgling scientific breakthroughs, romantic poetry, human psychology and biographies of major scientific protagonists (with all their vanities and petty jealousies, as well as their soft, fuzzy side) - but all this in ONE book? It's a masterpiece, beautifully written, wittily observed and carefully footnoted. Every page a delight.
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